Shihon always found it harder to move freely and fight more efficiently in her beast form, but she was really finding it difficult now.

In her human form, there would be no doubt that she could maneuver against her Magical Beast opponent more easily and avoid being such an easy target against the human battalion with a smaller body.

But at the same time, she couldn't transform into her human form because of what happened in the first layer, right? Or would that not apply here, as everyone around her apparently seemed to know about her?

All she needed to do was to simply hear a single order from her Master. She had been reminded time and time again about the need to follow his directions, but the one time that she needed guidance the most was when he was unable to give any.

So, should she act on her own instincts? She had to, right? Or else…

It will be all over.

Her promise to help her Master in whatever way in order to complete his mission would be broken, and there was no way that she could let that happen.

Plus, Liohime was now surrounded once more. He could die in a few seconds.

I-I'm sorry, Master, but-

BOOM!

And that's when it happened.

Reinforcements had arrived with a weird entrance but almost perfect timing, as Shinigami Soldiers emerged onto the scene.

As the conditions were now equal with each side having pretty much an equal number of members, both Shihon and Liohime could feel a glimmer of hope blooming from within.

I…can fight. I can keep going!

And finally, he had been reunited with his co-workers, as they all immediately rushed to his aid, trading blows and shielding him from danger as they all surrounded him and blocked off the enemy with the weapons and Magical Beasts in their arsenal.

"LIO!!! ARE YOU STUPID!!" yelled Harvey, who gave him a stern glance while remaining in front of him. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TRYING TO FIGHT OFF AN ARMY LIKE THIS!!??"

"H-Harvey!!"

"Don't worry, Lio! Everything's fine now!" Leah chimed in as her translucent shield that had been given to her by Bica before the start of the mission materialized, and the group all advanced with battle poses. "Fight along with us!!"

"Right!!"

Thus, Ophiel, Bica, Leah and Harvey all backed up Liohime as they prepared to take on their opponents with the other groups scoping out the chaos.

"What do we do now!?" one asked. "We were able to take a shortcut with Noriko's Magical Beast based on a whim, but-"

"Isn't it obvious guys!? We have to remove the threats first," answered a voice of courage and leadership from the sole leader of the Hallory Circuit group. "Split up into two and help to take down the opposition who are overwhelming trying to take down Liohime and his Magical Beast."

"What will you do, Yariko?"

The young man known as Yariko Deshian frowned as he gazed forward, staring at Shihon who was clearly struggling against the Magical Beast with spikes, and then he spoke out confidently:

"Killcreation and I will help Liohime's Magical Beast directly."

***

"Not good enough, Jolene!!!"

"RAHHH!!!"

Despite being hurt severely by her opponent, Jolene Aurora did not falter as she got up immediately and tried to continue her vicious assault, while Kaza felt interested enough to retrieve her sword from the ground once again in order to continue fighting.

The blades continued to clash as Jolene Aurora blitzed forward in a zigzag pattern, hoping to catch Kaza off guard before slashing at her, only to get sidestepped with a swift spin and countered, but she barely managed to block the sudden redirected attack.

Wasting no time, she raised her katana and stabbed through the air twice, missing her target as Kaza craned her head away with perfect accuracy.

"More."

With a leap and a powerful spin, Jolene swung downwards, but Kaza crouched and dodged at the same time, reading her movements like a book, before using her own sword to parry the attack with a strong defence.

"I need more."

With each attack, swing, and slash raining down against her opponent within milliseconds after, Jolene could only scream out in frustration as Kaza managed to block almost every hit.

Then, in an instant, Jolene slyly maneuvered her right arm in a circular motion as their blades clashed once more, and her katana pushed Kaza's sword downwards before it rose up again with increased speed as the circular motion was fully complete, whipping her opponent's weapon out of her hand and disarming her with a skilful attempt before she grazed her with a deep slash upwards that sliced through her right eye.

Kaza did not flinch.

Her adrenaline overrode her searing pain that gushed out of her destroyed eye, and he instantly kicked at Jolene's right arm, also disarming her weapon as it flew upwards from the impact, followed by a nasty backhanded fist that connected straight into her nose, breaking it immediately as her opponent stumbled backwards while experiencing a flash of hurt and blood that profusely began to leak out.

"DON'T FUCKING BORE ME, JOLENE!!!"

"-hkKKKKK!!!"

Jolene coughed and sputtered, trying to get up as she saw her weapon fall just between the both of them and despite her severely injured state, she continued to glare at Kaza, who merely laughed as she lightly touched her opened wound on her face.

This entire fight thus far irritated Jolene to the core, because….

She knew that Kaza was not taking it seriously, while she was trying her absolute best.

So far, her adversary had been measuring out her strength while enjoying the thrill of putting herself under pressure through only doing defensive actions, trying to draw out all of Jolene's abilities into the limelight.

She groaned, sensing a bad feeling growing inside as she questioned her own ability.

Why….can't I beat her…even when she isn't trying!?

"For years, I have been looking for someone who could entertain me, someone who could match my strength in a real fucking fight," Kaza began to mutter with a grin that did not fade. "You have proved to be delightful so far-"

"Shut…the fuck up-"

"-BUT IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH!"

Her voice rang out, cutting Jolene off, and she continued with a horrifying glare that emanated from her bruised face:

"....You're slowly becoming boring, Jolene. I hate that."

And then, she kicked off the ground, speeding towards her target with a menacing intent to kill.

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